1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a film feeding apparatus which is installed in a camera or is integrally or detachably mounted on a camera and, more particularly, to an apparatus for winding up a film stored in a cartridge by a driving force of a motor.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Conventionally, in a film feeding apparatus of this type, an unexposed film in a cartridge is loaded in a camera by opening its rear cover. When the rear cover is closed, a motor is driven upon detection of this closing operation. Then, the film is successively wound up so that a frame to be exposed first is set to oppose an imaging lens (this wind-up operation is to be referred to as a preparatory wind-up operation hereinafter since this operation is performed to prepare for photography operation). The closing operation of the rear cover is detected by a detection means such as a switch which is operative in accordance with opening/closing of the rear cover.
However, according to the conventional film feeding apparatus, if the position of the switch is shifted from an ideal position, before the rear cover is completely closed, i.e., during the closing operation of the rear cover, the switch is operated and the preparatory wind-up operation starts. In this case, the film which is being wound up from the cartridge may be undesirably exposed by external light incident from a gap between the rear cover and the camera main body.
A prior art technique for resolving this problem is disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Disclosure No. 11989/1969. In the prior art technique, a lock device for locking the rear cover in the closing operation is interlocked with the rear cover detection switch. When the lock device completes the lock operation, the switch is operated. However, this technique results in a complex arrangement of the camera.